Mast Capital gets new $1M-plus investor in Silva International

Mast Capital just got an investment shot from Silva International Investments, a firm owned by Italian entrepreneur Riccardo Silva, whose holdings range from soccer teams to modeling agencies and restaurants.

Silva declined to disclose the value or percentage of his investment, but told The Real Deal it is in the “seven figures.”

“We like the company,” Silva said. “They have a nice mix of investments in real estate, with different characteristics … Mast Capital has a very good track record, and we believe it will continue.”

The investment marks Silva International’s first real estate investment in the United States, and will be used toward various Mast Capital assets, he said. A Silva International executive will now sit on the company’s board, Silva said. “I cant do everything,” he quipped. “I pay a lot of people so they must also work.”

Silva International is based in London, but has offices in Monaco and Miami, where Silva owns a home and spends much of his time. His wife Tatiana Silva is overseeing another investment, Forte Dei Marmi, a new Italian restaurant and arts club that the couple opened last month in Miami Beach’s South-of-Fifth neighborhood, in the space formerly occupied by the shuttered Cavalli Miami.

Celebrity restaurateur Myles Chefetz of Prime 112 and Prime Italian, and Nelson Fox own the 5,875-square-foot, Mediterranean Revival building at 150 Ocean Drive that the restaurant is leasing. Fox had told TRD that the tenants spent nearly $5 million on the renovations.

In addition to the restaurant, Riccardo Silva is a major shareholder and president of MP & Silva, a London-based global television rights distribution firm. He’s also a member of the Silva family, one of the most prominent and historic families in the Italian chemical industry, according to his company’s website. MP & Silva has offices in Miami and New York, as well as in various cities in Europe, Asia and Africa. The Silva family moved to Miami in 2007, and Riccardo Silva has been splitting his time since then between Miami and London, according to the website.

Silva’s other businesses include MP Milan, MP Miami and MP Paris, agencies that manage celebrities and models. He is also the president and co-owner of the Miami FC, Miami’s professional soccer team and is among the owners of Flamengo, the popular Brazilian soccer team.

Silva said he had asked his investment company to analyze many Miami real estate companies for a potential investment, and Mast Capital was the one “they felt was the most appealing.”

He said he has known Mast Capital’s CEO Camilo Miguel Jr. for many years. “He is a top-class entrepreneur, but I must say in this case, it was more than a personal relationship, it’s about the business’s value.” Miguel was not available for comment.

Mast Capital’s current projects include Louver House, a 12-unit condo project under construction at 311 Meridian Avenue in Miami Beach; and Treasures on the Bay, a residential complex in North Bay Village; and 3900 Alton, a condo in Miami Beach.

The company also owns an historic French chateau site at 1500 Brickell Avenue, which will be the site of Bianconi, an Italian eatery by Italian restaurateurs Fabrizio and Diana Bianconi, planned to open later this year.